Brian Pappas is trained and experienced in both facilitative and transformative mediation and has conducted hundreds of civil and domestic relations mediations. In 2009, he received the Outstanding Service Award from the Dispute Resolution Center of Washtenaw and Livingston Counties. He currently is a Ph.D. student in Public Administration at the University of Kansas.

Professor Pappas serves as a member of the State Bar of Michigan’s ADR Section Council and is the co-chair of the Washtenaw County Bar Association’s ADR Section. He also serves as co-chair of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution’s Law Schools Committee.

Pappas’s research focuses on the intersection of formal and informal dispute resolution mechanisms. He is an expert on mediation confidentiality and authored a study of the proposed Uniform Mediation Act on behalf of the State Bar of Michigan’s ADR Section. His writings on dispute resolution have been published in the ABA Dispute Resolution Magazine, Laches (Oakland County Bar Association), ADR Quarterly (State Bar ADR Section), Lansing State Journal, and the UCLA Journal of Law & Technology.

Contract NegotiationThis course introduces first-year students to principles of negotiation. Students will be required to engage in mock negotiation exercises.

Mediation Advocacy(Formerly DCL 555)
This interactive course will cover: types of mediation (domestic relations, commercial, employment, labor, construction), deciding whether to mediate, mediation agreements, confidentiality (rules of evidence, privilege, immunity, statutory and court rule protection), enforcement of mediation agreements, role of attorney in mediation, selecting a mediator, duties of a mediator, timing of the mediation, and ethical issues in mediation (self-determination, impartiality, conflicts of interest, competence, confidentiality, quality of process, advertising and solicitation, fees, and obligations to the mediation process). Also covered will be Michigan Court Rule 2.411 Mediation, which went into effect August 2000.
Teaching modalities will include lecture, simulations, video and exercises.
Students who have taken Mediation Advocacy and Domestic Relations Mediator Training or Mediation Advocacy and Civil Facilitative Mediator Training may not take this course.

Mediation Advocacy and Civil Facilitative Mediator TrainingThis course meets the civil facilitative mediator training requirement as required by Michigan Court Rule and the Michigan State Court Administrative Office (SCAO). With this training, and the completion of additional requirements, students will be able to apply for inclusion on court mediation rosters. The course includes a variety of graded assignments, including drafting an agreement to mediate (with adequate confidentiality provisions), a post-mediation agreement (with mediation clause), and a mediation representation plan. By balancing theory with practice and paying particular attention to mediation ethics, students completing this course will be prepared to both mediate civil cases and effectively advocate for clients in mediation. Students who have taken Mediation Advocacy and Domestic Relations Mediator Training may not take this course.

Mediation Advocacy and Domestic Relations Mediator TrainingThis course meets the domestic relations mediator training requirement as required by Michigan Court Rule and the Michigan State court Administrative Office (SCAO). With this training, and the completion of additional requirements, students will be able to apply for inclusion on court mediation rosters. The course includes a variety of graded assignments, including drafting an agreement to mediate (with adequate confidentiality provisions), a post-mediation agreement (with mediation clause), and a mediation representation plan. By balancing theory with practice and paying particular attention to mediation ethics, students completing this course will be prepared to both mediate domestic relations cases and effectively advocate for clients in mediation. Students who have taken Mediation Advocacy and Civil Facilitative Mediator Training may not take this course.

Negotiation(Formerly DCL 520)
This course introduces principles of negotiation. Students will be required to engage in multiple mock negotiations, with frequent feedback from the instructor.

Negotiation AdvocacyStudents for this course will be selected from the MSU Law Intra-school Negotiation Competition to form two teams to compete in the ABA Law Student Division Negotiation Competition. Selection is based on skill, potential to be excellent teammates, to work hard, and to represent Michigan State University College of Law. The course allows students to develop their negotiation advocacy skills in an intensive, skills-based format. Preparing for the ABA Regional Negotiation Competition, students will develop skills in the areas of problem analysis, negotiation preparation, communications skills and strategies, and reflection and improvement. Through competition, students experience what it is to be a professional, competent, and ethical advocate in a negotiation. Students advancing to the national ABA negotiation competition will be expected to compete and prepare accordingly.

Online Dispute ResolutionThis course introduces students to the evolving field of online dispute resolution (ODR). Students will examine how technology can facilitate dispute resolution. Specific topics will include:
-The history and evolution of ODR
-The nature of online practices, interactions, and disputes
-Implications for dispute resolution across cultural and political boundaries
-ODR systems and applications
-The future of information technology in conflict avoidance and conflict management in online contexts.
-Analysis of online communications as compared to communications that are F2F (face to face)
-Throughout the course students will consider ethical and other professional and practical implications of ODR for parties, counsel, neutrals, and other participants.
There are no particular prerequisites for this course, and no prior knowledge or experience in technology or alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is assumed. Note that the course is not intended to serve as a substitute for a foundational ADR course. This is a hands-on, experiential, skills building course. Students will analyze various online dispute resolution platforms and resolve simulated disputes using such technologies.
Online content will be in the form of readings, audio lectures, powerpoints, threaded discussions, and participation in simulations or other ODR exercises.

Christopher J. Webb and Brian A. Pappas, "Confidentiality in Mediation: A Reality Check for the Process." Laches, Oakland County Bar Association. May 2008; ADR Quarterly, State Bar of Michigan ADR Newsletter. April 2008.

Brian A. Pappas and S. Joseph Austin. Should Michigan Adopt the Uniform Mediation Act: An Analysis of Michigan's Court Rules and the Community Dispute Resolution Act. Report to the State Bar of Michigan ADR Section, Fall 2007.